Kawakami Uzumaki
member.}} Kawakami Uzumaki (川神, Uzumaki Kawakami; lit. "Whirlpools River of Divinity") a prodigal son of the , and infamous throughout the shinobi world for breaking the treatise that forbade the creation of a . When he sealed the within him ten years ago, he became an . He was hunted to the ends of the earth by every major organization in the elemental world and for ten years he evaded capture. Yet the man himself is an enigma, playing both the mercenary and the hero. Tales of his exploits have become legend in various communities. Despite his status as a wanted criminal, it appears that Kawakami demonstrates some level of humanity. He disdains warlords and other tyrants, readily using his ill-gotten powers to crush those who rule the masses with an iron fist! As though possessed by a bleeding heart he charges recklessly into danger to save citizens, regardless of their country of origin. These acts would have him appear as a saint, one who uses his shinobi skills for the betterment of his countrymen and those who are not. However, Kawakami is also one of the most accomplished black ops mercenary's in the shinobi world. He has sold his services to villages and organizations hoping to use his power to quell uprisings, broker trade agreements between warring factions, sometimes using his power to topple enemy forces and lay waste to entire armies. He is notorious for his actions during the reign of Muzai, having lead numerous missions to thwart the Mizukage. His prowess was such that he was hailed as the Oncoming Storm, alluding to his growing elemental collaboration jutsu; summoning storm clouds, tornado's, wailing hurricanes and thunderous lightning. He arose to prominence when he aided the former Kage himself- Fuyuki into reclaiming what was rightfully his and brought peace to the ravaged . His ascendancy earned him the title The Right Hand of God, a force of nature wielded by the God of Storms himself. Kawakami has established hiimself as a powerful ally, having affiliated himself with and bringing the immense political clout he now possesses for all that he has done. Appearance Reputation is a lot like armor; it is the first thing on a person that is seen, and depending on its quality can reveal every weakness there is about the individual or show to the world an indestructible master of war. But like any style of dress each article of clothing tells only part of the story. Beneath crimson locks pulled back by his bandanna and slick black goggles that ward the elements lie deep set rust colored eyes on the face of a hardened veteran. His piercing gaze reflect experiences too painful to voice, but hidden in their depths is a cold fire that burns fierce. A long ridged nose, thin lips and narrow jaw-line give him sharp angular features like a statue carved from endless conflict. Concealed by a bellowing tiger-skin mantle that hangs heavy on his shoulders, and a dusty cloak that flutters in the wind, Kawakami's movements are as carefully precise as they are light and silent like a predator stalking its prey. Hidden by loose but comfortable weather worn robes is a rippling mass of tight sinewy muscle. Lithe and taut, his strength is deceptive, but speed and agility are his calling. His arms are wrapped in a similar fabric though between the folds hint of scars of ages past and mystical seals decorate the rest of his body. Calloused hands linger over the hilt of a massive broadsword that hangs at his side bound by nothing more than a simple rope. Forged as a six-part segmented blade; each segment sporting a vicious bladed tong with the whole being wider then its predecessor. A weapon designed for murder pure and simple; slow and visceral in its embrace. Only those who walk with death would wield such an instrument. Kawakami's fearsome reputation reveals him as the shinobi of darkness that descends with the clap of thunder and the fury of an ancient god! The sky darkens, and the winds howl with the wail of dead. Flames as black as night illuminated only by ghastly azure light dance in his wake. He is believed a monster, a demon incarnate consumed by the beast sealed within him who brings only death and ruin. Yet those who weather through the whirling maelstrom are surprised to find that only the corrupt and evil lay dead at their feet. Crops and vegetation that had decayed and soured now bloom once more with life. What was once empty river beds become glistening rivers of fresh water. Kawakami is everything his reputation makes him out to be, yet it only hides the truth. Some consider him a saint, and they are those whom have seen the hardships inflicted on his person, others see a raging demon hell bent on toppling the shinobi empire. And then there are those who see him for what he truly is. It is sorrowfully ironic that only his enemies see what others are blind to. He is but a man. A man motivated by principle, a ninja who fights for the greater good. He'll save the world from destruction or die trying. So when they see the tiger-skin cloak, and the broadsword at his side, they know exactly what to do - run. Personality Kawakami is immensely proud of his heritage, so much that he considers it the very core of his pride. The legacy of the Uzumaki is both subtle yet far-reaching for they were the worlds foremost experts in all things sealing. Every seal that has ever graced the hands of a shinobi in some way originated from the mind of an Uzumaki. Modern members of society may forget this, but Kawakami is very quick to point this out, and will go to great lengths to illustrate why the Uzumaki were feared. His own budding sealing prowess is in the eyes of the world: remarkable. He is a true heir of his clan having developed several seals that would astonish the populace and could potentially revolutionize the world should he share their secrets. But behind the chest-pounding, and condescending bravado, Kawakami teeters at the edge of despair. He knows that it was his blunder that quite possibly resulted in his clan's destruction. He also knows that his lack of understanding and respecting the power they wield is what sealed his fate. Kawakami's pride is a complicated mess originating from a superiority complex with regards to the importance and perceived power of his clan combined with an inferiority complex of himself compared to his clan. By the standards of the ninja world, he is a master of the sealing arts, a prodigy seen only once every generation. But to his clan members? He is still very much a novice, one who is just now growing into his own as an expert. His heart is burdened with an intense desire for recognition from his clan, but because they are dead he subconsciously knows it will never come. So he strives to better himself, to understand seals and improve his own sealing powers. All the while he is scathingly critical of his progress, loathing his incompetence and constantly belittling what successes he makes comparing them to the legacy of a clan he holds as gods. Still, despite his own inner conflict he presents an aura of great pride, perhaps bordering on megalomania where it concerns the power of fuinjutsu. But is not the only thing in which he holds such reverence for. Kawakami's pride is deceptively complex, and at times contradictory. He holds himself to a standard that is and forever will be impossible to reach, and despairs for it. However because he holds himself to such a high standard; one of prestige, nobility, and power he regards others as though they were beneath him. It is not as though he does not care, on the contrary he values life, freedom and the capacity to do what one wishes above all else: a life free to choose his or her destiny. He can be compassionate even merciful, but he is never empathetic. In a way the reason he saves others may very well be out of pity than a general desire to do good. This contradiction exists as a projection of his own dejection with his own life. He has always been on the run, either fleeing from enemies of his parents with his mother, to evading his own slew of adversary's since he became the Jinchuuriki of a Bijuu. Now he feels the pressure closing in on him from all sides, paranoia heightening with every ambush, and the crushing loneliness that comes with his profession. His pride, at least in how he views himself as a person, is brought about by his own struggle to fight a world that has seemingly sought his destruction from his very birth. So when he faces off against enemies who threaten those innocent lives, he cannot help but feel some measure of disdain, even contempt because they are too weak to do anything about their own situation themselves. Background Mind of Glass There comes a time in everyone's life where one moment, one infinitesimally small mote of time defines the rest of their life. For Kawakami this came much too early and far too violently. When he was seven years old, he and his mother were ambushed by ; cornered and unable to escape, his mother fought on grinning madly as her bloodlust took over. Unfortunately she was too slow to detect, let alone prevent the genjutsu that nearly tore her mind apart. But a mind ravaged by war and warped by vengeance intertwined with a mother's love is a hard thing to break. Shattering the illusion she finished off her opponent only to realize that she was not it's only target. At the age of seven, Kawakami's mind had been ripped open, and then gouged with a hundred knives until all that was left was a gaping wound and a broken boy. Uzumaki Reika is unsure of how he came back to her. Was it her tear streaked face as she begged the gods to let her keep her only child? Was it some hidden tenacity of spirit that the boy had? Regardless he returned, but not in one piece. It was difficult, but she acquired the services of doctors to see what could be done, and unfortunately there was very little. To all observers Kawakami, the once curious and wild bundle of energy was gone, replaced by a broken, mute doll. For a year he spoke not one word. He followed directions, and did as he was supposed to but there was always a mechanical feeling to his movements, a profound sense of detachment. When he finally did speak it was with an articulation that at first baffled his mother. Slowly emotions returned to him, and in time everything normal. But that is merely the surface of his tale. When his mind had been shattered, Kawakami was left in his own mindscape to pick up the pieces of what was once his own person. To say that it was disconcerting is putting it lightly. For the year that followed he steadily, and meticulously pulled his mind back together again. He faced himself in that mindscape, discovered everything there was about himself, his mother, and the harsh world he lived in. And like a master sculpture he had to put everything back into its place. To do this he invented a mantra. He is not sure where he heard it or even read it from, its the only mystery of that time that he ponders to this day, "Discipline your mind, focus your thoughts, control your fear; discipline, focus, control.". Like the beat of a drum he repeated the mantra endlessly while restructuring his mind. He realized for the first time that he was an undisciplined, rambunctious brat. He should not have been targeted but standing as he did whooping and cheering for his mother was in hindsight rather foolish. He rarely took his training seriously, and like any child dumped that responsibility on his mother, who despite her love was clearly unable to provide the environment needed to raise a healthy child. But he did not begrudge her, he loved her too much to do that. The happiness he had would and still is cherished to this day. But if he wanted to live, to survive and to ensure such a thing never happened again he would need to discipline himself. Discipline his mind, so that the body would follow. He possessed a powerful chakra, incredible stamina and vitality and in the face of such an attack it might as well have been a paper fortress to an oncoming tsunami. An undisciplined mind was weak, subject to attack and influence by the slightest effort. It led to the abandonment of one's objectives and an inability to do the most important thing in life- take action. He found something standing among the broken shards of his mind as the walls of his reality crashed around him. It was an instinct inherent in all living things, a desire that transformed crippling despair into a tide of determination. "I want to live." It did not matter that he was in agony beyond imagination, that every thought like a heavy breath brought him to his knees crying out in pain. He did not care for the unknowns that plagued him, the doubts that made him hesitate or the fear that held him back. He needed to do just one thing; and that was to take the first step. So he hardened his mind, ignored the burning pain of his body, and shoved back all errant thoughts, doubts, and emotion. In one stride he shed everything that once was and became everything that he could be. Now that he had the determination to act, the second thing to do was to carry it out. To rebuild himself he needed to use this discipline to focus. Focus on his mind, on his thoughts, on gathering the shattered pieces and somehow put them back in order. But on whose order and in what order remained unseen. It took several months, some of which he is barely aware of the outside world, responding only when commanded to and requiring more care than he ever needed before. It was the persistence of his mother that he found comforting. She was flawed in so many ways that to call her 'mother' was more of an insult to the title than anything else, but she cared. He used that as an anchor. He focused on his present so he could rebuild his past. And from what he built in his past helped him to define his future. It was a remarkable feat of mental control, in that he was actually building a reality by which he lived and defined himself by. But seeing the world for what it is, the sacrifices his mother made, would continue to make, and those of his own all the while perceiving his life like a dream gave him something he desperately needed. Wisdom. Focus provided him the ability to reconstruct what was once destroyed, but it did not prepare him for the onslaught of chaotic emotions that would soon follow. And when they did, all of his efforts were nearly undone. Fear is an integral part of a thinking living being. It informs us of risk, danger, and serves as a necessary evil for our survival. But fear in excess can lead to the inability to move forward, to be paralyzed by its embrace, or to flee from that which we must stand against. Once his mind was his own again, Kawakami's fears descended on him like an avalanche. But he took the lessons he gained before and used them to control his escalating emotions and nightmares. Wisdom is a powerful too, it allows one to deal with the harshness of reality through knowledge and understanding. At some point his mind reached a state of meta-stability ad-mist this chaos. It is one thing to piece together one's memories, but to then put emotion to them and survive the storm is another thing entirely. It changed him. His mother noticed but found the changes rather welcoming. While he was still very much a child physically he seemed to have aged several decades. He possessed a wit and cunning that continued to surprise her, and often held himself well in intelligent conversation. He was curious, no extremely inquisitive, yet nearly cripplingly paranoid. But it was this change in his mind that allowed them to survive for so long thereafter. At some point he began shouldering the responsibility of keeping tabs on their enemies, checking for traps, ambushes, hidden codes and messages. Often these had very well led them into trouble, and others allowed them evade the worst of them. Sadly, his fears began to bloom when he correctly deduced that war was on the horizon, and that the Land of Water would be thrown into another civil war. World at War Whirlpools Nine Lives The Face of Evil The Oncoming Storm The Right Hand of God Conquest and Revolution Synopsis *'Audience of the Desert Song: The Diabolic Duo' Powers & Abilities Bukijutsu & Taijutsu Chakra Abilities and Life Force As descendants of the infamous Senju Clan, it is apparent that the Uzumaki inherited the lion's share of their ancestors potential, being blessed with powerfully strong life-force and great vitality. As a child Kawakami possessed extraordinary deep chakra reserves which only continued to grow. At the age of fifteen Kawakami was able to briefly battle then seal a Bijuu within himself, a feat in of itself. He then proceeded to use its power to coordinate the efforts of dozens of deceased clansman into creating a complex sealing array to fix the instability of Uzushiogakure while under the duress of approaching oblivion. Even after such an exhausting endeavor he then went on to battle the forces of Muzai's navy, crippling their ships and escaping with his life. Kawakami is capable of realizing the full brunt of the Two Tailed Beasts abilities as its jinchuuriki. His vitality and stamina allow him to wield hellish azure flames that form the body of the Two Tails, flames which consume the life force of everything they touch. They do not burn like normal fire, nor do they generate heat of any kind. Like a ghostly flame they burn out the life energy of everything in nature. Using such a dangerous power requires a substantial amount of chakra as it uses the jinchuuriki's own life force to ignite the flame. Such a feat was beyond even the abilities of the previous host. Aside from his abilities as a jinchuuriki, his immense chakra reserves are what have allowed him to learn and develop four elemental affinities, and using them as part of his own unique style of collaboration jutsu. By summoning shadow clones, an already highly taxing technique, he can use various high rank techniques in tandem as part of his collaborative jutsu style over prolonged combat or other engagements. His chakra is considered especially potent as he later developed the ability to with his chakra. An ability that made the unique. This would later be demonstrated as he was able to learn and enter into . Intelligence For some a high intellect is innate, a byproduct of a greater than normal mind that intuitively picks up on details and strategies. For others, failure and experience have been their mentor sharpening their mind and imparting on them wisdom far beyond their years. Kawakami is a proud student of the latter. Kawakami didn't have a normal childhood, the crimes of his mother made it necessary for them to move around and evade enemies from the previous war. She was a kind, and playful mother but a rather impulsive and reckless woman with a perverse love for battle. Being forced to evade, confront and often times flee from Hunter-Nin for much of his youth has instilled in Kawakami a wit sharper than any blade. Eventually he learned to temper his mothers by being everything she was not; attentive, cautious, shrewd, and very much aware of his surroundings and the people in them. He developed an acute sense of paranoia that would ordinarily claim most minds by crippling with them an intense perception of impending doom but for Kawakami, his extreme paranoia and preparatory skills became a matter of course. Shrewd and in possession of a rare cunning, Kawakami knows the value of planning but is equally capable of altering his strategies on the fly as is necessary in the ever changing world of shinobi. He has experienced failure many times in the past against opponents who by all rights should have been killed the insolent child. Whether it is luck or pure strokes of genius, Kawakami manages to slip away to fight another day. His unique mind-set served him well when he joined with the resistance to overthrow Muzai's reign. His experience in dealing with a variety of shinobi skills, traps and tracking methods enabled him to devise effective counter stratagems, defensive barriers, alert systems, and encrypted protocols for communication. He proved himself invaluable as an asset, and used his sojourn's across the elemental countries to foster relationships with various organizations, and people to aid in the smuggling of medicine, arms and persons in and out of the Land of Water. Fuuinjutsu :Main article: Fuinjutsu Jinchuuriki Transformations :Main article: Jinchuuriki Transformation Ninjutsu From escaping the squads of hunter-nin during his youth, to his evasion of other organized forces after sealing the Two Tails, his mercenary work as a rebel against the Blood Apostles in Kirigakure to his travels around the elemental world, Kawakami has accumulated a veritable library of knowledge in . A master of elemental transformation, and one of the worlds most revered sealing experts, Kawakami's recent exploits and prowess in ninjutsu have earned him the moniker of the Right Hand of God (神の右手, Kami no Migite), a title he shares with Ayako Gozen who is regarded as the Left Hand of God under Fuyuki. Nature Transformation He is most accomplished not by his impressive fuinjutsu but prized for his skill in elemental ninjutsu. Kawakami possessing the water, wind, and lightning elemental releases with fire being inherited from the Two-Tails. He developed a powerful and versatile ninjutsu style through ingenious elemental collaborations and using the synergy of his releases to perform astounding feats of elemental ninjutsu. Initially he began working on the foundation of this style while observing the nature of elemental kekkai genkai of Kirigakure's forces during his upbringing and subsequently his ongoing battle against the Muzai's shinobi. He sought to understand their power by deconstructing the base elements and how they interacted with one other to generate the coveted bloodlines. With his insight and analytic ability he soon began emulating these feats through his comprehensive knowledge of elemental transformation. The interaction between the wind, water and lightning releases allows him to take full advantage of their strengths and weaknesses, combining water and lightning to enhance the other's power, or even alter its effect. This fighting style would elevate him to the infamous ranks of S-Class once he acquired the fire release from the Two Tails. By altering atmospheric conditions using wind, fire and water, he could create powerful storm clouds allowing him to take full advantage of his elemental mastery. Water Release Kawakami's primary elemental affinity, and one he is most familiar with. As with most shinobi born within the Land of Water he possesses a strong natural affinity towards water. He is capable of performing all water release techniques using one-handed seals, and can generally perform them after using the first seal. Using the complete set of hand seals has been shown to increase the power of his techniques by several order of magnitudes. While most of the water techniques require one to spit the water out of the mouth, Kawakami has since mastered the ability to create water with his chakra alone after he advanced his knowledge of the wind release, demonstrating the ability to summon large bodies of pressurized water in the forms of massive tsunami's or descending pillars that smash and pulverize his enemies. *'Water Release: Wild Water Wave:' An elementary technique learned by most students who begin training in elemental transformation for the element of water. Taught to him by his mother when he was young it was originally used for washing away tracks and scent when they were forced to flee from hunter-nin. As one of the first elemental techniques he learned, it also became one he mastered first. Its low rank, chakra cost and small number of hand seals made it efficient during his many battles. He has since learned to shorten the seal into one and then chain it together with his other water release techniques to provide the necessary material component. For a time it was considered an ingenious short-cut to the prodigious ability that Kage have exhibited in creating water from their chakra alone. *'Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave:' *'Water Release: Hiding in Water Technique:' A necessity for one living on the run, this technique along with Wild Water Wave was taught to Kawakami in order to avoid detection. Rather than be used to stage ambushes, Kawakami spent much of his time training to blend seamlessly with bodies of water, even those small and shallow like a puddle. He would later advance this technique after a bout of inspiration during he was forced to evade a series of attacks by a hunter-nin while his mother was preoccupied. He learned to dive into the "splashes" of water as they sprayed into the air, effectively removing the inherent weakness of this technique by using only stationary water bodies. *'Water Release Dragon Bullet Technique:' During the Warring Clans Period, open-sea warfare had boomed as it never had before. The numerous islands dotted across the land of water were filled with a number of shinobi clans who fought viciously for territorial control of the sea. At this time the then great grand father of the had fallen prey to an ambush by enemy rivals and seemingly died at sea. He had secretly faked his death and after drifting underwater came to an underground cavern. Various legends are conflicted on what truly happened while trapped there. Some say that he encountered a dragon spirit, others claim he formed a pact with a previously unknown summon. Regardless he was presumed dead for several months only to return riding upon the head of a colossal dragon of water. In a triumphant display of power his new technique smashed apart enemy vessels, dominating open-sea warfare. He then rallied his clansman, and began to systematically conquer the more powerful ruling islands that eventually became known as the Land of Water. Kawakami acquired this technique after he successfully infiltrated Muzai's forces, and capturing an enemy shinobi. During the interrogation he posed as a fellow inmate and together they managed to escape imprisonment and stow away on a passing supply ship. There he learned the basis of the technique as they were planning to use it to crush the rebel supply-chain they were on. Moments before they began their attack, Kawakami attacked the shinobi revealing his betrayal, and the two battled over the sea. Having just learned the technique Kawakami was ill prepared to press any offense against the more experienced nin. However he did use the technique to hold the attack until reinforcements arrived. He gained a bitter enemy that day, and one whom nearly slew Kawakami years later. The Water Dragon Bullet is an artillery based seige-weapon primarily designed for open-sea warfare. Sporting the longest chain of hand seals of most elemental techniques, its destructive power is nearly unrivaled as it focuses all of that enormous power with extreme precision. Kawakami is skilled enough to not only perform the technique using one-handed seals, but doing so with only the first sequence of seals. *'Water Release: Dragon Whip:' *'Water Release Formation Wall:' *'Water Release: Mirror Technique:' *'Water Release: Water–Heavens Convergence:' *'Water Release: Waterfall Basin Technique:' *'Water Release: Water Clone Technique:' *'Water Release: Water Prison Technique:' *'Secret Technique: Mist Rain:' Wind Release Lightning Release Fire Release The influence of the Two Tails is powerful indeed, for after having become its jinchuuriki, Kawakami inherited its elemental affinity granting him access to the fire release. However whereas the flames of a normal shinobi are red and orange, Kawakami's are azure and black, which burns like a cold fire. Like the element itself they are capable of releasing intense heat, hot enough to vaporize solid rock but the flames of the Two Tails are very yin dominant, draining Kawakami's very life force to use. Even then the true power of these fire techniques are shown when they begin to burn. These flames greedily consume the life force of all things. Instead of burning things as fire normally does, his fire will cause nature itself to decay, shrivel and die. Air itself becomes noxious and poisonous, the earth becomes ruined, unstable with cracks and rifts forming in the wake of the blazing azure flame. And this is after taking into account the immense heat generated, which can instantly melt stone and metal. Despite the peculiarities of this release, Kawakami was able to learn and master techniques of this element at an astounding pace. What is even more remarkable is that he was able to master them to such a degree as to no longer require hand seals at all; the kneading of his chakra within his body being more than sufficient to mold the energies into a stable form. With a mighty breath he can expel searing pillars of azure coiling flame which often take on the appearance of massive gaping maws that descend on his opponents. He is also capable of simply expelling chakra from his tenketsu to produce such techniques with similar ghastly effects. As one who is known as The Oncoming Storm, Kawakami was able to finally close the gap in his elemental prowess after acquiring this release. With the immense heat generated by his technique's he is now capable of altering atmospheric condition's, especially when combined with technique's of his Wind Release, to induce stormy weather. This allows for the augmented use of his other elements, specifically water and lightning further enhancing his ninjutsu prowess. *'Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique:' *'Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet:' *'Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet:' *'Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique:' *'Fire Release: Great Fire Annihiliation:' *'Fire Release: Great Fireball Shower:' *'Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique:' *'Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique:' *'Fire Release: Running Fire:' Summoning Kuchiyose: Keshin (口寄せ:化身, Summoning: Avatar) *'Kuchiyose: Godai Keshin' (口寄せ:五大化身, Five Kings Avatar) Sensory Perception Other Skills Trivia Category:Approved Technique Category:Approved Jinchūriki Category:Uzumaki Clan Category:Kirigakure Category:Land of Water Category:Male